Soulless
by Miss Mercury Blue
Summary: The Chest of Souls once contained the spirits of the nine demons bent on annihilation. The gang is reunited and sent out to retrieve each soul to prevent a second bloodbath. It's all rather routine; that is, until a civilian gets involved.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Yu Yu Hakusho? Don't mind if I do!

**Summary: **The Chest of Souls once contained the spirits of the nine demons bent on annihilation. The gang is sent to retrieve each soul to prevent another bloodbath. It's rather routine; that is, until a civilian is involved.

**Disclaimer: **I do not in anyway own, claim to own, make a profit off of, etc. Yu Yu Hakusho or its related mediums. Any recognizable character(s) that associate with Yu Yu Hakusho and its related mediums are not owned by me, but by their respective creators. This is written solely for entertainment purposes. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda. Please don't sue or report.

**Warning: **Overall, **T** for language (unless some unforeseen "happenings" happen *nudgenudge* *winkwink*). There shouldn't be much language though, as far as I can tell for now. Still, nothing too terrible, for now.

Enjoy!

Soulless

Prologue

- Escape of the Evil Spirits -

A small assembly line of invoices, memos, and reports buried the large desk of the small prince of Spirit World. He had neatly filed every document into a separate pile, assigning each with its own end objective. Any paper that needed stamp-approval was in one pile and any that merely offered an update were set aside in another. The prince passed each stamped document into a small box that he would then appoint his ogre-assistant George to sift through and deliver the approvals to their respective destinations. It was a tedious process at first, but once he fell into a steady rhythm, the prince was able to accomplish much in a short period of time.

Hours would pass and the simple sound of his stamp slapping the paper with an inked-seal would resonate throughout the large chamber. Only one or twice a day would the sound pause long enough for the tiny ruler to fish a Band-Aid out of a small box he kept nearby to bandage a paper cut. Soon enough his little fingers would be covered with white dressings and his blue-haired reaper would frown at him when checking-in.

"You need to be more careful," she would tell him. "Don't work so fast."

But he would merely shrug her off, remind her of some menial task she should be doing instead of distracting him, and then continue working, though at a slightly slower pace that always made the reaper smile to herself.

This was comfortable though. They had all fallen into a routine that no one wanted to change. And any thought of wishing for something more stimulating would quickly be squashed with the remembrance of all the excitement the now-retired Spirit Detective caused in the past. This new life was much simpler, much easier, and much safer. Plus, the prince wasn't as likely to get a spanking from his father. And he had no complaints there.

One morning though, everything was different. The small prince knew things were amiss when he hopped into his chair and found his desk completely bare. Irritated, he paged his ogre-assistant to arrive immediately with an explanation. The prince drummed his fingers on the wooden desk, waiting for what he considered to be a shoddy underling. After five seconds, he grew beyond impatient. He paged the ogre again and decided to give him ten seconds, an act he felt was far too generous. A minute passed. Two minutes. Five.

Fully annoyed and fed-up, the little ruler slid off his chair and stomped his way across the chamber to the large double doors. Just as he reached for the golden-handle, the doors burst open and the prince was mowed over by a group of ogres. Annoyingly enough, George was not among them.

Groaning, he peeled himself off the floor and was about to reproach the group when the blue-haired reaper appeared in the doorway.

"Koenma, sir, what are you doing on the floor?"

His face reddened, he was about to erupt with rage. Just as he opened his mouth to begin shouting accusations, the reaper again interrupted him.

"You really need to get up, Sir. This is something you're going to want to see."

She strolled past him, leaving him on the floor, mouth still open. Koenma huffed, glared at the backs of his employees, and hoisted himself back up to his feet. Dusting himself off as he walked, he regained his air of authority.

"Botan, what is so important that I have to be _trampled_ over?" He inquired.

The ogres immediately began bowing and apologizing, though it was made difficult by the cumbersome steel chest they carried together. Koenma eyed it with interest, having not seen it before. Of course, his face _had _been buried in the marble flooring.

"What is that?" He pointed at the chest as he reclaimed his chair.

Botan bounded up to his desk, her eyes alit with excitement. "It's the Chest of Souls, sir," she exclaimed.

"Chest of. . .Souls?" Koenma looked at the steel chest with uncertainty. "I don't-"

By now, Botan was bouncing on her toes, her body completely rattled with exhilaration. She hurriedly explained, "The Chest of Souls that the Recon Team was sent to find. Well, they found it!" She energetically waved her arms at the chest to formally present it to the prince.

Koenma hesitated. "I'm still not quite sure that I understand."

Botan's smile melted into a frown. "Don't tell me that you don't remember about the Chest of Souls."

"That's exactly what I'm saying! What is this 'Chest of Souls'? You keep saying that but I don't know what that means!" Koenma banged his fist on the desk in emphasis.

Botan puffed up, slapped her hands down on the desk and leaned in closely. "The _'Chest of Souls_' was the relic used to imprison the cruel, sadistic spirits responsible for the Great Massacre."

Koenma blanched. "Are you telling me that I currently have a chest containing the souls of those who slaughtered thousands of innocents, in my chamber as we speak?"

"The very same," Botan breathed dramatically. She turned her head and both prince and reaper gazed at the steel contraption warily.

Koenma closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, his face scrunching up. Already the stress was flooding through his veins. Eyes still shut tight, he asked, "What exactly am I supposed to do with this?"

Botan blinked, her pink eyes wide. "I don't know. You're the one who sent the team out in the first place."

"Why don't I remember this?"

"Sir, I can show you the document that you approved-"

"I don't read what I approve! I just stamp and pass to Ogre," Koenma confessed with a shout. They never seemed to be able to hold a civil conversation for long.

Botan folded her arms in front of her chest and tapped her pointer finger on her chin, thinking. "What about storing it in the High-Level Security Vault until we can assemble a more suitable place?"

Koenma looked up at the blue-haired reaper wearily. The instant gravity of the situation was taking a toll on him. He was too old to be dealing with this. Hadn't he already done his time with Yusuke Urameshi and Co.? But thankfully he had Botan. Good, loyal Botan. She would never fail him. Even though they could cause each other ridiculous volumes of frustration, it never seemed to affect their friendship, but only strengthen it. Secretly, they both enjoyed the little spats.

"That sounds appropriate. Get it down there right away and I'll begin searching for someone more specialized in the," he searched for the correct word. "Handling of something so 'delicate'."

Botan nodded, fully determined to see this strained situation through to the end. She turned to the ragtag group of ogres and directed them back out the doors. She threw a quick grin to Koenma along with a thumbs-up before marching off.

However, today was not meant to run so smoothly.

George unexpectedly dashed through the doorway shouting, "I'm here, I'm here, I'm here," repeatedly. He was finally answering Koenma's pages. Almost twenty minutes later.

Being in such a blind rush, the blue ogre had no chance of slowing down in time to avoid the ogres carrying the deadly chest. Bodies crashed to the floor in a mess of limbs. The chest flew out of their grips and smashed into 0the floor, clasp broken and lid flying open. Botan and Koenma gasped, too stunned to react more proactively.

Before either could regain his/her senses, small black orbs filtered out into the open air. Nine orbs floated above the damaged chest and stilled.

"Wha-"

At the sound of Koenma's voice all nine black orbs shot off instantly in different directions. In the blink of an eye, they flew through the walls and ceiling, disappearing.

The chamber was absolutely still and silent as the events slowly settled in. A small tremble emerged in Koenma's pinky finger. Bit by bit it spread to the other fingers and then the entire hand. Then it took over the other hand. Little by little it traveled through his wrists, up his arms and into his shoulders. His toes, feet, and legs were shaking as well. The quake quickly took over his whole body. Koenma tensed up, clenched his fists, and his face reddened significantly.

"OGRE!" His voice, full of fury and rage, reverberated throughout the entire Spirit World.

**A/N:** I had been debating for the longest time (and by "longest time" I mean thirty seconds) on whether to end it here, or continue on. Eventually I decided that this was the strongest ending I could, well, end with. So, it's a nice short little beginning. The next chapter should be longer. Maybe. Hopefully. Well, we'll see. I haven't quite figured out what length I'm shooting for so I'm just doing the whole "strongest ending"-thing for now. Possibly.

If this talk of "The Great Massacre" and "Chest of Souls" confuses you, yeah it's my own for the plot. In other words, not in the canon. It'll be explained within the next few chapters. Wouldn't want to leave you hangin'!

Loads will be revealed next chapter.

I hope. I'm not sure. I don't have it planned out line-by-line. But! There's a chance! Perhaps.

:)


	2. Chapter 2

Soulless

Chapter One

-Make a Wish or Two or Three or Nine-

Meiou High was considered to be the preeminent school, the most prestigious of its kind. Many young brilliant minds vied for admittance. The competition within the school was extreme; rank meant everything to the students. Studying and homework were just as vital as breathing, if not more so. All of the stress made the students prone to illness but none dared to miss class. And if they were dedicated to the point of attending even while sick, skipping was unheard of. "Truancy" wasn't even in most of their vocabularies. School was the most important thing in their studious opinions.

This in mind, it was odd that two Meiou students were currently meandering through the woods of a nearby park _during _school hours. The young truants were discussing, of all things, the uses of poetry. Hoshi, the more reluctant of the two, was attempting to dissuade her friend, Sanyu, from writing a love poem that would, in her opinion, backfire. Sanyu, on the other hand, remained steadfast in his conviction. He would win over the heart of Sanae, the gorgeous girl who had stolen his own.

"Why can't you settle with writing a letter?" Hoshi asked, borderline exasperated. She couldn't even believe that she actually allowed her friend to convince her to skip class. She just wanted to go back.

"Because that's exactly it!" Sanyu was as fed-up as his friend. Their "discussion" had gone on for twenty minutes and it got tiring after the first two. "It's 'settling.' I don't want to _settle _when it comes to the affections of Sanae."

Hoshi quickly fired back, "Sanae doesn't even know your name!"

"She will after she reads this poem that fully expresses my fondness!"

Throwing her head back and unleashing a frustrated sigh, Hoshi said, "You haven't even written anything yet!"

"Because you aren't helping me!"

"And," she raged on. "She's only going to know your name as 'that creepy guy who wrote me a creepy poem.' She's not going to be flattered."

"Hoshi, please," Sanyu begged, his tone switching from irritation to pleading. "Just at least help me write it. I'll think about the actual 'giving it to her' part over the weekend."

"No, you're not going to think about it," Hoshi stopped walking, turning to Sanyu and adopting the same serious tone he was using. "But I'll help you anyways."

Sanyu grinned, overjoyed that he had finally won-over his stubborn friend.

"Only because," Hoshi quickly added. "I don't want Sanae to file a restraining order."

"I love how overflowing your faith is."

The two found a weatherworn stone bench and brushed off the leaves and dirt to sit down. Hoshi glanced at the blank notepad in Sanyu's hands with little confidence. However, Sanyu's wide smile showed how overjoyed he was. Hoshi was only slightly annoyed by his overwhelming confidence.

Sanyu turned to Hoshi and asked, grinning, "So, how should we start?"

"Well, _you_ should jot down a quick list of what you think about Sanae and what you admire about her. And then we can go from there."

"This is going to be so much fun, Hoshi!"

Half an hour later, and both were about ready to strangle the other.

Hoshi laid, stretched out across the bench while Sanyu had taken to the ground, leaning against it. The list he had compiled during the thirty minutes was embarrassingly short and Hoshi couldn't drag out anything more even if she wanted to.

"All you have is that she's pretty." Hoshi was rubbing her temples, eyes closed.

"Because she is!"

"And what makes her pretty?"

Sanyu sighed, fully exasperated. "I don't know. Everything!"

"You don't know?" Hoshi raised her head to look at him and make sure he wasn't joking. He wasn't. "You don't know why the girl you 'love' is 'pretty?'"

"She just is!"

"Well, that's good. This will be the shortest love poem in history! 'Sanae, you're pretty. Date me?'"

Sanyu glared down at the pad of paper on his lap, imagining Hoshi's face printed on the lines. "This is useless. I don't even know why I tried."

"Because just like all of the other guys at school, Sanae has entranced you. And why wouldn't she? She's beautiful."

"I don't want to be like the other guys!"

"Then do something that none of them have."

"And what's that?"

"Talk to her."

Sanyu paused, staring up at Hoshi blankly. "Talk to her? Do you know how unbelievably lame that is?"

"Exactly! She'll be so impressed that you've chosen something understated instead of wooing her with dramatics. Everyone has done the poem, everyone has done the letter, the flowers, the candy, the stuffed animals. But no one has talked to her."

Lowering his eyes, Sanyu took a moment to think about it. He looked up again and said, "You know, I think you're right. Talking probably is the best way to grab her attention."

Hoshi smiled. "Keep it simple, stupid," she teased.

"All right. I will!" Jumping to his feet, Sanyu pumped his fist in the air. He was now completely determined, his optimism renewed. "I'll scrap this pathetic attempt at poetry and just talk to her!"

"Atta boy," Hoshi encouraged.

"But first," Sanyu paused dramatically, leaning in towards Hoshi. "We have to sneak back into school."

She sighed, "Something tells me that will be trickier than the sneaking out."

"Oh please," Sanyu waved off her concern. "This will be cake."

He reached for Hoshi's arm and hoisted her off the slab of stone. She wasn't expecting such an active "helping hand" and she stumbled forwards, almost falling into Sanyu except he managed to still her in time. Sanyu gripped her shoulders firmly and smiled. Hoshi looked up into his jovial eyes and her heart nearly stopped.

"Thank you so much for everything, Hoshi. I appreciate it more than anything. Even when I'm a jerk, you still stand by me and offer help. You're the best friend I could ever even dream of asking for."

Something in Sanyu's admittance quickened Hoshi's breathing before he pulled her into a tight hug and then it all but disappeared. Moments passed and Hoshi reveled each one. She could stand in the middle of the woods, wrapped in Sanyu's arms, forever. Unfortunately, Sanyu was dreaming about another girl to stand in the middle of the woods, wrapped in his arms. The sad revelation caused Hoshi to hug him tighter.

"Whoa, look at that!"

Hoshi found herself being pushed away with Sanyu looking up at the sky. She followed his gaze and saw what had captured his attention. It was a shooting star, streaking across the clear sky.

Sanyu smiled and laughed, "Quick, make a wish Hoshi."

She watched as he closed his eyes tightly. His face scrunched up in concentration. Hoshi knew what he was wishing for. She opted out and only continued to look up. A gasp escaped when she saw another fly by.

"Sanyu, look!"

"Wow! Another one?"

When three more followed, Hoshi started getting a bad feeling.

"Is there supposed to be a meteor shower today?" Sanyu asked.

"Not that I've heard," Hoshi whispered in answer.

Sanyu laughed. "So many wishes and so few stars."

Another three rushed by.

The bad feeling worsened.

And then there was a second where everything stilled. All of the sounds of the woods that had previously kept Hoshi's ears in use had now vanished. Hoshi gulped down the dread growing in her gut.

"And one more! How many is that Hoshi?"

She watched the final orb fall from the sky.

"Nine."

Hoshi knew that something malevolent was about to reveal itself.

**A/N**: This is more of a continuation of the prologue I suppose. The next chapter WILL have more of the YuYu gang and the plot will rear its little crazy head. Oh yeeeeeeaaaaah.

:)


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